sábado, noviembre 24, 2007

Gordon Brown apologizes for huge loss of personal data in Britain.Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain apologized Wednesday for a security breach that resulted in the loss of millions of Britons' bank account details and other personal data and has raised the specter of financial fraud on a massive scale.[...]The data went astray when two computer discs from the tax authorities were lost in the mail last month. The discs contained information on 25 million people — or nearly half the British population — from families that receive a government financial benefit for children.

"All those lectures from government and authorities about keeping our personal data safe; every statement ever made about the security of the proposed NHS database of everybody's personal medical records; each claim that the Children's Database containing all their personal details will somehow make our kids safer; and of course each and every promise about the safety of the national identity register — exposed as quite, quite worthless. Because as soon as you put it on a computer, a bloke in an office can download it and stick it in an envelope and send your most personal details and mine and our children's across the country with a dodgy courier."

George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, said that the e-mail exchanges brought into question Mr Darling’s version of events. “The Chancellor must urgently explain the apparent inconsistencies between these e-mails and his statement to Parliament. He needs to tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Then we can decide whether he is fit to remain in office. It now appears that at least one official at a senior level within Revenue & Customs knew about the decision not to remove these sensitive details before giving it to the NAO [National Audit Office]. This version of events appears inconsistent with what the Chancellor has told the public and Parliament.”

Y claro la gente está MUY enfadada:

The depth of public anger over the blunder is revealed by the poll, which suggests that 73 per cent of voters believe it has hit their confidence in the Government’s ability to handle confidential data. Some 64 per cent say it calls into question “the basic competence of the Government”.